For a long time now, people have been asking for longer battery life for their mobile phones, but until recently the manufacturers seem to have been more focused on style over substance. But recently we’ve noticed a change from the Android makers, and it’s excellent. These new phones offer around 3 days of operation from a charge, which makes life so much easier. And now there’s a new king of the jungle out there, which offers even more.

If anyone needs proof that the world is slowly changing, look no further than the major car manufacturers. These lumbering dinosaurs are being forced, kicking and screaming, into the eco driven future to the extent that they’re even converting their major sellers into green machines. The latest example is this Volkswagen Passat GTE, a plugin hybrid (PHEV) which boasts ‘official’ consumption figures of 149 mpg and 31 miles of all electric range. And at a price which is very nearly…

Suddenly you can’t turn a corner without coming up against a new DIY security camera. Big ones, small ones, and they all have one thing in common. They’re designed to be super easy to install. We’ve just been checking out one of the latest on the market, the HomeMonitor HD Pro from camera veterans Y-Cam. It’s an outdoor camera, which is supposed to be so easy to install your cat could do it. Or something like that.

There are tablet computers, and then there are ‘tablet’ computers. Most of the genre, except for the iPad masters, offer a lot of me-too tech, or simply a lower price to try and win customers. But occasionally there’s a tablet which really tries to be different, and so it is with this new tablet computer from the Lenovo stable. Big, brassy and bold. And that’s just the box.

Tablet computers seem to be enjoying a little bit of a surge in popularity again, maybe because they’re coming down in price, and are offering some nice features along the way. It also helps that more ‘generic’ software is now available for the most popular platforms like Android, which makes them even more useful. We recently checked out one of the latest tablets to come out of the Samsung stable, and found it to be a very solid workhorse for…

If you want to get ahead, get a hat they say. Or in this case, get a smart hat at least. Because, as we all know, we’re only as clever as the technology which we wear, use and consume. Apparently. Anyhoo, we were intrigued enough by the idea of this LifeBeam Smart Hat to agree to take a look and see if it works as advertised. Short answer, yes it does. And surprisingly well.

Something’s up with the car world. Unless we’re hallucinating, it looks like the major manufacturers are actually starting to try and produce vehicles which are designed to be fuel frugal, instead of sticking their head in the sand about the economic and environmental situation. The result is more and more cars on the road which give more miles per gallon, without sacrificing quality, performance or style.

You can’t turn a corner nowadays without running into some new gadget or other which you can control with your phone. Whatever happened to the good old days of an on/off switch? Bah! Anyhoo, here’s a new take on the whole subject of mood generation… a smartphone controlled LED lamp which goes way beyond just changing colors.

Cameras are a big deal nowadays. We’ve got phone cams, cameras for security, dashcams for the car, action cams for the sporty types, spy cams… and the list goes on. Everyone needs a camera. Now an interesting new product from a major player in the camera arena has hit the shelves and it’s really offering something quite innovative.

There are a lot of solar products out there nowadays, many of which can’t do the job they’re supposed to do. Or they work so slowly that you might as well be trying to charge your device with a hairdryer. On low setting. But there are some companies trying to provide solar chargers which are apparently meaty enough to work, so we thought we’d test one to see if it’s worth your time and money.

Projection equipment has long been a mainstay of the business world, if only for those interminable meetings full of Powerpoint slides. But they’ve also made big inroads into the living rooms of those who enjoy their entertainment at a super large size. Traditionally these projectors have been large, heavy and rather clunky, but no more. The new generation of LED projectors really takes things to a different level.

When the first 3D printer pen was announced it caused a real stir, and rightly so. The idea of creating 3D plastic artwork using a pen like instrument was an amazing concept. And even though the original tools were rather clumsy, they gained an enthusiastic following from fans across the world. Now we’ve hit Version 2.0, and while it’s more an evolution than revolution, the results are still as much fun.

If you’ve ever struggled to control an Android TV box, smart TV or computer from your couch, you’ll know just how frustrating it can be to get anything done. The default option is to click and select, which takes ages, and even if you’ve got an air mouse it can be very slow entering in web addresses or anything longer. But now there’s a new tool to make things easier.

The big problem with waking up in the morning is the sound. All that bleeping and chirping and clanging. Why should everyone in the neighborhood be woken up just because you’ve got to start the day at 5am? Now there’s a way to wake yourself up silently with just a vibration. We check it out.

There’s nothing worse than finding yourself stranded with a dead camcorder or digital camera battery when you’re on your vacation or travels and trying to capture the moment. Sure you can trudge back to the hotel and use the standard mains battery charger than comes with your camera, but it’s a real hassle. But now there’s another option which lets you charge up the battery from any handy USB source – laptop, battery block, solar charger etc.